Frank g



(No Model.)

P. G. CALDWELL. GORNIGE.

No. 453,544. Patented June 2,1891.

- Maw @2 07. Enid 6v. 6a%e25 g fz FRANK G. CALDWELL, OF IVHEELING, IV 1ST VIRGINIA.

C O R N l C E SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 453,544, dated June 2, 1891.

Application filed December 29. 1890. Serial No. 376,083. (No model.)

To all whom it many concern.-

Be it known that I, FRANK G. CALDWELL, a citizen of the United States, residing at Vheeling, in the county of Ohio and State of Test Virginia, have invented new and useful Improvements in Cornices, of which the following is a specification.

This invention has forits objects to provide a novel, simple, economical, and ornamental sheet-metal wall-cornice for the decoration of rooms and halls in a building; to provide a sheet-metal wall-cornice as an article of manufacture which can be conveniently nailed or screwed to the ceiling or wall, and thereby firmly and substantially held against displacement; to provide a sheet-metal cornice with simple means whereby it can be nailed or screwed in position without liability of the nail or screw holes in the metal tearing or breaking out, as can occur where nails or screws merely pass through the metal of a cornice into the wooden support; to provide a sheet-metal wall-cornice with attached wooden strips for nailing or screwing it in position, and which are covered, protected, and concealed by an outer metallic cap, preferably applied after the cornice has been nailed or screwed to the ceiling or wall; to provide the sheet-metal cornice with a metal frieze, which is separate from the cornice and is connected thereto by a cap-piece which engages the adjoining or adjacent longitudinal edges of the cornice and frieze.

To accomplish all these objects my invention involves the features of construction and the combination or arrangement of devices hereinafter described and claimed, reference being made to the accompanying drawings,in which- Figure 1 is a perspective view showing a portion of a molded cove-cornice constructed according to my invention. Fig. 2 is a vertical sectional View of a molded cove-cornice embodying my invention. Fig. 3 is a similar view of a plain cove-cornice embodying my invention, and Fig. 4 is a similar view showing a modified construction.

In order to enable those skilled in the art to make and use my invention, I will now describe the same in detail, referring first to Figs. 1 and 2 of the accompanying drawings, which represent a sheet-metal cornice having coves l, separated by longitudinal ornamental corrugations 2, the top edge of the uppermost cove extending forwardly into a horizontal portion 3 and the bottom edge of the lowermost cove extending into a vertical portion 4:, which portions 3 and 4 are adapted to rest, respectively, against the ceilin g and wall of a room or hall.

To the outer surface of the horizontal portion 3 and the vertical portion a of the molded cove-cornice is secured by nails, screw, or other fastening devices 5 a longitudinal strip of wood 6, which is square or of other proper form in cross-section. Those wooden strips render it possible to nail or screw this cornice to the ceiling or wall in a very convenient manner, while the passage of the nails or screws through the wooden strip subserves the purpose of firmly and substantially securing the cornice against displacement. The wooden strips also prevent the liability of the nail or screw holes in the metal tearing or breaking out, as can occur in that type of sheet-metal cornices wherein the attaching nails or screws merely pass through the metal into the ceiling or wall.

The cornice constructed as described is furnished with a frieze 7, having on its outer surface the longitudinal wooden strips 8, which are respectively arranged flush with the upper or lower edges of the frieze and are secured in position by nails, screws, or other fastening devices 9.

The uppermost wooden strip of the frieze adjoins the lowermost wooden strip of the cornice, and over the two strips thus brought into juxtaposition is placed a cap-piece 10, having longitudinal flanges and so constructed as to embrace, cover, and conceal the adjoining wooden strips of the cornice and frieze. The cap-piece is preferably secured in position by nails or screws passed through its flanged portions into the wooden strips. The wooden strip at the upper edge of the cornice is also covered, protected, and concealed by a metallic cap 12, having flanges to embrace the wooden strip, thus enabling such cap to be secured by nails or screws 13. The longitudinal wooden strip at the lower edge of the frieze is likewise covered and concealed by a metallic cap-piece 14, the entire construction being such that all of the wooden parts ICO are covered and only metallic surfaces are exposed, which can be painted or decorated in any appropriate manner to-produce an ornamental cornice and frieze.

In Fig. 3 a plain cove-cornice is illustrated, while in Fig. 4 a'straight-line cornice is shown, and since like reference-signs indicate the corresponding parts a detailed description of these figures is not deemed essential.

The cornice can be shaped into any desired form and ornamented or embellished with any appropriate design.

In practice the cornices are produced by dies or by stamping or pressing the sheet metal into the required outline, after which the longitudinal wooden strips are applied in the manner before described. The cornice can be economically manufactured on what is known as a cornice break-machine, but as the particular method of manufacture forms no essential part of the invention further explanation is unnecessary.

The sheet metal constituting the frieze may be corrugated, embossed, or otherwise formed with any desired ornamentation, and likewise the metal cap-pieces can be suitably embossed to impart thereto an ornamental appearance, if desired. a

The invention provides a new and improved cornice, in that the longitudinal wooden strips enable it to be conveniently and substantially nailed in position to the ceiling and wall, while such strips are covered and concealed by the cap-pieces. The cap-piece which covers the uppermost wooden strip of the frieze also covers the lowermost wooden strip of the cornice, and consequently the latter serves in a measure to support the frieze, while the lateral projections formed by the wooden strips at the lower edges of the cornice and the frieze may serve for supports for picture hangers or hooks.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is- 1. A sheet-metal cornice having its upper and lower longitudinal edges provided with attached wooden strips for nailing or screwing the cornice in position and metallic cappieces which cover and conceal the wooden strips, substantially as described.

2. A sheet-metal cornice having longitudinal wooden strips along its upper and lower longitudinal edges and provided with a frieze having attached wooden stripsalong its upper and lower edges, substantially as described.

3. A sheet-metal cornice having longitudinal wooden strips along its upper and lower edges and provided with a frieze connected with the longitudinal strip at the lower edge of the cornice, substantially as described.

4. A sheet-metal cornice having longitudinal wooden strips secured to its upper surface along the upper and lower longitudinal edges and provided with a frieze having wooden strips along its upper and lower edges, a cappie'ce engaging and covering the adjoining strips of the cornice and frieze, and cappieces applied, respectively, to the wooden strips at the top edge of the cornice and the bottom edge of the frieze, substantially as specified.

5. A sheet-metal cornice having its upper and lower edges formed, respectively, with a horizontal and a vertical portion, each provided on its outside with an attached wooden strip, in combination with a frieze having attached upper and lower wooden strips and cap-pieces for covering and concealing such wooden strips, substantially as specified.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand and affixed my seal in presence of two subscribing witnesses.

FRANK e. CALDWELL. [n s] WVitnesses:

B. WALKER PETERSON, JOHN N. DONEL. 

